157129 Thu Jun 01 09:58:15 -0700 2006 19 12 Boston Area 0 845883 On a mission for soft shell crabs. Great dishes anyone had? Also, how about to buy to cook myself? Thu Jun 01 09:58:15 -0700 2006 0 Coast 1 845884 Peach Farm-Chinatown, Bernards-Chestnut Hill. Thu Jun 01 09:59:37 -0700 2006 845883 0 Taralli 2 845954 i second both recs, particularly bernard's. here's a link to a review i posted a while back... Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/156688#843276 Thu Jun 01 21:44:02 -0700 2006 845884 0 rebs 1 845888 I've enjoyed them twice this season--1st at Jasper's Summer Shack, then at Grill 23. Both were really great! Link: http://www.myspace.com/philgrenadier Thu Jun 01 10:20:23 -0700 2006 845883 0 Trumpet Guy 1 845894 Bought them at the New Deal Fish Market in Cambridge a couple of Saturdays ago. Very fresh. Thu Jun 01 11:11:47 -0700 2006 845883 0 AlexCasa 1 845901 I have seen them available live at the 88 on herald st Thu Jun 01 12:07:21 -0700 2006 845883 0 jb 1 845904 I had two fantastic versions this month: Taiwan Cafe in Chinatown and Dolphin Seafood in Harvard SQ Thu Jun 01 12:18:09 -0700 2006 845883 0 g 2 845937 What was the price at Dolphin? Are they on the menu or just on special? Thu Jun 01 15:30:47 -0700 2006 845904 0 Wallace-and-Gromit 3 845965 $15 for two jumbo crabs, I think it was a special but I am not 100% sure Fri Jun 02 08:43:29 -0700 2006 845937 0 g 1 845922 Fresh Pond Seafood has them live. I enjoyed a very good cooked version at the Summer Shack (Alewife) right around the corner if you don't feel like snipping off their faces at home. eeek. Thu Jun 01 13:54:46 -0700 2006 845883 0 yumyum 2 845928 i got some from fresh pond seafood last weekend as well, and they were excellent. Thu Jun 01 14:29:30 -0700 2006 845922 0 passing thru 3 845933 How large were they in inches across both ways or around. Thu Jun 01 15:09:59 -0700 2006 845928 0 Taralli 4 845938 they were average sized, probably 4-4.5" across. Thu Jun 01 15:33:24 -0700 2006 845933 0 passing thru 5 845942 How much is Fresh Pond charging? I checked a couple weeks ago and they were $6 each. New Deal Market had them for $4.50 at the same point in time. Nicer folks, better prices. Thu Jun 01 16:27:47 -0700 2006 845938 0 nomadfromcincy 6 845963 they were five bucks each. and i dunno whether the people at new deal are nicer or not, i've always had perfectly peasant service at fresh pond, myself. Fri Jun 02 07:38:56 -0700 2006 845942 0 passing thru 7 845964 um, that's "pleasant" service, not peasant service. ;) Fri Jun 02 07:39:34 -0700 2006 845963 0 passing thru 8 846026 pleasant or peasant, the folks at New Deal go out of their way to be helpful. Having shopped at both places many many times (and I like them both), New Deal is a small notch above Fresh Pond. Fri Jun 02 22:03:39 -0700 2006 845964 0 nomadfromcincy 1 845962 Let me echo the Fresh Pond Seafood recommendation, they get great fresh softshells, live...they may be a little pricey, but are well worth it. The most important part of cooking softshells at home in my experience is that you DO NOT get them cleaned at the store. When you do, all that juice that ends up in the bag on the way home is not in the crabs where it should be, and the crabs toughen out... Clean them as close to cooking as possible - its easy, perhaps a little uncomfortable from the crab's perspective (and the human, as well) but you will have absolutely delicious, plump, juicy softies... Fri Jun 02 06:19:16 -0700 2006 845883 0 Roejimmy 1 845978 Hooks has them for $4.00..if downtown is convenient. Fri Jun 02 10:50:46 -0700 2006 845883 0 9lives 1 846030 When they have them at Savenor's (Cambridge on Kirkland St), they are quite large, lively and fresh and $5-$6 each -- they go fast as they don't have many at a time -- explained that it's because they need to be stored at a cool temperature (50' F) which above the storage level for most other seafood items, otherwise they begin to go into comas and die soon. Fri Jun 02 23:39:31 -0700 2006 845883 0 rlh